Two Lincoln teachers receive grants from Western Governors University

Lincoln, Ill. – Two Lincoln teachers were recently awarded grants through Western Governors University’s (WGU) “Fund My Classroom” initiative.

Whitney Kessinger, a first-grade teacher at Chester East Lincoln Elementary School, received a $550 grant that will be used to purchase a variety of flexible seating options for her classroom to help improve student concentration and engagement.

Samantha Murphy, a tenth-grade English teacher at Lincoln Community High School, received a $1,200 grant that will allow her to obtain several new copies of graphic novels to teach students about important historical events in a unique way.

Both Kessinger and Murphy learned they were selected for the grants in early May when they were surprised with check presentations at their schools.

The $550 grant awarded to Kessinger will be used to purchase a variety of accommodating seating options to welcome back her first-grade students in the fall to a fun and flexible learning environment, after being socially distanced in desks since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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While Kessinger has spent money out of her own pocket to purchase a few items here and there, she was still in need of more options to fully implement flexible seating into her classroom and requested funding to meet her goal. The grant received from WGU will be used to purchase high-quality flexible seating options that include wiggle seats, stools, bean bags, lap desks, wobble chairs, balance balls and more.

Murphy will use the $1,200 grant to obtain several new copies of graphic novels for her tenth-grade English students to read in literature circles, as well as independently.

Since the ages of 15-16 are a crucial period for young people in deciding who they want to be and what direction they want their lives to go, Murphy has her sophomore students work on a year-long theme of “Who Am I" with the different texts they read. These examine how different situations, relationships and worldly events affect a person’s character and society in general.

Murphy is currently using interlibrary loans to access seven different nonfiction texts that students can choose from – with topics ranging from early American history to WWII and the Civil Rights movement – but she only has enough of each for one small group to access during class.

With the funding provided by WGU, Murphy will be able to add 10 copies of each book to her classroom library, enabling students to bring their own copy to and from class. By giving her students the opportunity to read independently outside of class, Murphy will be able to expand her curriculum and fit additional learning opportunities into this reading unit.

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The innovative classroom projects were among 27 across Illinois chosen by WGU to receive funding. The nonprofit, fully online university issued a call in March for K-12 teachers across the state to nominate proposed classroom projects by April 17 for the opportunity to receive full or partial funding through its “Fund My Classroom” initiative.

More than 80 nominations were received statewide. Most grants were awarded during Teacher Appreciation Week, which ran from May 2-6.

“We received nominations for some amazing classroom projects, and we are happy to bring so many to life through this year’s ‘Fund My Classroom’ initiative,” said Dr. Terrance Hopson, Regional Director of Western Governors University.

“When it comes to expanding classroom curriculum and employing innovative techniques to engage and challenge students, teachers are often limited by costs. This initiative is an opportunity for WGU to give back to teachers, who go above and beyond to educate our students, by providing them with funding they can use to further enhance learning both in and out of the classroom.”

To learn more about the “Fund My Classroom” initiative and the work WGU is doing to help teachers advance their careers, visit wgu.edu.

This article originally appeared on Lincoln Courier: Western Governors University awards grants to two Lincoln teachers